Projectile

ABSTRACT

An ammunition round having an adapter casing retained within the breech end of a gun barrel and a projectile held within the casing. A rear tubular portion of the projectile is made of thin sheet material and double walled to enclose a propellant charge about a firing pin extending into engagement with a primer located between the recessed nose of the tubular portion and a partition in the forward housing portion of the projectile separating the primer from the warhead.

United States Patent 1191 Grosbard June 12, 1973 PROJECTILE [75] Inventor: Gregory Grosbard, New York, NY.

[73] Assignee: Radion Development Corporation [22] Filed: Apr. 13, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 133,665

['52] U.S. c1 102/38, 102/40, 102/43 R,

102/44, 102/497 [51] Int. Cl. F42b 9/10 [58] Field of Search 1()2/49.l49.7, 34 T, 38, 40, 45

[56] References Cited 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,399,398 4/1946 Smith 102/491 x 2,872,864 2/1959 Barnes et al.. 102/492 x 2,500,117 3/1950 Chandler 102/34 x 1,347,125 7/1920 Schneider l02/49.7 X

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 776,053 6/1957 Great Britain l02/49.7

Primary Examiner-Robert F. Stahl Attorney-Clarence A. OBrien and Harvey B.

Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT An ammunition round having an adapter casing retained within the breech end of a gun barrel and a projectile held within the casing. A rear tubular portion of the projectile is made of thin sheet material and double walled to enclose a propellant charge about a firing pin extending into engagement with a primer located between the recessed nose of the tubular portion'and a partition in the forward housing portion of the projectile separating the primer from the warhead.

18 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENIEU 3.738.272

Fig.5

Gregory Grosbard INVENTOR.

PAIENIED JUN] 2 I975 3 738,272

Gregory Grosbard LN VENTOK.

PROJECTILE This invention relates in general to ammunition rounds for firearms having elongated barrels and more particularly to an ammunition round of the type having a propellant carrying projectile adapted to be inserted into an adapter casing retained within the breech end of the gun barrel.

Ammunition rounds of the type to which the present invention relates, generally consist of a cartridge casing and a projectile extending forwardly therefrom into the gun barrel from which the cartridge is ejected subsequent to discharge of the projectile. Usually, the primer and propellant charge are housed within the cartridge casing. This type of arrangement, limits the design of the projectile and is also relatively costly since the cartridge casing cannot be reused.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a unique and novel ammunition round wherein the cartridge casing is replaced by an adapter casing retained within the gun barrel for reuse. A further object in connection with the foregoing object is to provide a projectile which is inserted with a press fit into an adapter casing, the projectile carrying its own primer and propellant and having facilities for guiding movement of the projectile when discharged from the gun barrel.

In accordance with the present invention, a selfpropelled projectile includes a forward housing portion from which a tubular member projects rearwardly for press fit insertion into an adapter casing occupying the space normally occupied by a conventional cartridge casing within the breech end of a launching device such as a gun barrel. The rearwardly projecting tubular member is made of a double walled, thin sheet construction so as to form an annular chamber containing the propellant charge and an inner passage within which a firing pin is housed. The inner and outer walls of the tubular member are interconnected at a forward nose end which is recessed and abuts a partition within the forwarding housing portion of the projectile in order to form a chamber for the primer adapted to be engaged by the firing pin. The rear end portion of the outer wall is deformable and converges rearwardly into engagement with the inner wall at the rear end of the projectile in order to seal the propellant. By means of the firing pin, a conventional firing mechanism ignites the primer at the forward end of the propellant chamber separated by the partition from the warhead or nose of the projectile. The propellant charge is thereby detonated to cause forward discharge of the projectile through the barrel as well as to cause outward deformation of the outer wall. In one form of the invention, the adapter casing is internally formed with fin-forming die recesses so that the tubular portion of the projectile when emerging from the gun barrel will have fin formations. In other forms of the invention, the rear closure end portion of the outer wall of the tubular member is slitted with the slitted sections overlapping each other to form the closure for the propellant charge. Thus, the slitted closure portion of the outer wall is deformed outwardly when the projectile emerges from the gun barrel in order to provide the projectile with guiding formations.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 -is a perspective view of a projectile and adapter casing assembly in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the projectile after emerging from a gun barrel in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the breech end portion of a gun barrel containing the assembled adapter casing and projectile as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partial transfer sectional view taken substantially through a plane indicated by section line 4-4 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial side sectional view showing the projectile being discharged.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the relationship of the adapter casing to an extractor tool by means of which the adapter casing may be replaced.

FIG. 7 is a rear end view of another form of ammunition round constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial side sectional view taken substantially through a plane indicated by section line 88 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the projectile shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 after being discharged from the gun barrel.

FIG. 10 is a rear end view of still another form of ammunition round constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view of the projectile shown in FIG. 10 after being discharged from the gun barrel.

FIG. 12 is an end view of yet another form of ammunition round constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a partial perspective view showing the projectile of FIG. 12 after being discharged from the gun barrel.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates a round of ammunition generally referred to by reference numeral 10 made in accordance with the present invention which consists of an adapter casing generally denoted by reference numeral 12 and a projectile 14 which is received within the casing prior to firing. The projectile assumes the configuration as shown in FIG. 2 after it emerges from the gun barrel or launching device.

Referring now to FIG. 3 in particular, the ammunition round 10 is shown within the breech end portion 16 of a gun barrel 18 associated with any conventional type of firearm adapted to fire ammunition rounds consisting of a cartridge casing and projectile. Thus, the cartridge space or chamber 20 within the breech end portion of the barrel is occupied by the adapter casing 12 from which the projection 14 projects forwardly. The adapter casing in the embodiment illustrated converges forwardly in external shape so as to conform to the internal surface of the cartridge chamber 20 and abuts the shoulder 22 between the cartridge chamber 20 and the bore 24 of the gun barrel at the forward end 26 of the adapter casing. An annular groove 28 adjacent the rear end of the adapter casing separates the main body of the adapter casing from the flange 30. An

the cartridge chamber in order to receive successive projectiles which are subsequently fired. Accordingly, the flange 30 of the adapter casing is provided with a notch 36 which is aligned with the usual ejector arm associated with the firearm so as to prevent ejection of the adapter casing. The flange 30 is furthermore provided with a pair of diametrically opposite notches 38 spaced 90 from the ejector disabling notch 36 so as to receive the prongs 40 of an extractor tool 42 as shown in FIG. 6 by means of which the adapter casing may be removed and replaced.

The projectile 14 is received within the adapter casing with a press fit and includes a forward housing portion 44 from which a tubular member 46 projects rearwardly into the adapter casing. In one embodiment of the invention, the forward housing portion includes a nose cone section 48 enclosing an explosive charge 50 in contact with an impact ignition device 52. The explosive charge 50 is separated from the rear portion of the housing portion 44 by a relatively heavy partition wall 54. The warhead nose section 48 is connected to or formed integral with a diametrically larger, cylindrical section 56 which may be formed with spiral or helical grooves 58 adapted to receive the rifling 60 in the bore 24 of the gun barrel 18. The rear axial end of the cylindrical section 56 of the housing portion 44'abuts the forward end 26 of the adapter casing when the projectile is pressed thereinto.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the tubular member 46 is made of a relatively thin sheet material and preferably formed from a single integral blank into a double walled formation including an outer cylindrical wall 62 and an inner cyclindrical wall 64. Thus, an annular chamber is formed between the inner and outer cylindrical walls enclosing a propellent powder 66. In order to secure the tubular member 46 to the forward housing portion 44, the outer cyclindrical wall 62 is formed with a formation 68 received within the recess 70 of the cyclindrical section 56.

The radially inner and outer walls 64 and 62 of the tubular member are interconnected at the forward end within the housing portion 44 by an integral nose portion 72 which is recessed axially inward so as to form a chamber at the partition wall 54 enclosing a primer 74. Ignition apertures 76 are formed in the recessed nose portion of the tubular member in order to establish communication between the propellant charge 66 and the primer for ignition purposes. The primer is engaged by the forward end of an impact firing pin 78 that extends axially through the tubular member slidably enclosed by the inner wall 64'. The rear end of the firing pin is exposed through the rear terminal edge 80 of the inner wall to the firing mechanism 34.

The outer wall 62 includes a rear deformable closure portion 82 which converges into engagement with the inner wall at the rear end as shown in FIG. 3 in order to seal the propellant charge 66 within the projectile prior to firing. When an ignition impact is applied to the firing pin 78 by the firing mechanism 34, the charge within the primer 74 is ignited in order to initiate detonation of the propellant charge 66. In addition to forwardly propelling the projectile 14 from the adapter casing 12, the propellant charge when ignited causes outward deformation of the outer wall 62 into a plurality of longitudinal die recesses 84 formed in the internal cyclindrical bore of the adapter casing within which the tubular member 46 is originally received with a press fit. The die recesses 84 are of decreasing depth in a forward direction as shown in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the outer wall 62 is initially deformed outwardly and then compressed radially inwardly as the projectile leaves the adapter casing in order to produce the stabilizer guide fin formations 86 as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 illustrates the referred to action resulting in the formation of the guide fins 86. It will therefore be appreciated that the outer wall 62'must have the requisite flexibility and thickness for deformation into an accurate fin shaped configuration under the explosive force of the propellant charge 66 discharging rearwardly through the opened closure portion of the tubular member 46 to produce the forward thrust.

Referring now to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, the ammunition round previously described is modified in that the adapter casing 12' has a completely cyclindrical internal bore 88 without any fin forming die recesses as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. Instead, the closure portion 82' of the outer wall of the tubular member associated with the projectile 14 is in the form of overlapping segments 90 separated by axial slits 92 when deformed outwardly as shown in FIG. 9. The slitted end portion of the projectile 14 accordingly constitutes the guiding facilities for the projectile in lieu of the fin formations 86 aforementioned in connection with FIG. 2. The ammunition round shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 may otherwise be the same as that described in connection with FIGS. 1 through 6.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate another modification of the ammunition round which is identical to that of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 except that the slits 92' are helical shaped. Also, the closure portion of the tubular member in yet another modification may be conical in shape as indicated by reference numeral 94 in FIG. 12 and formed into a cyclindrical continuation of the outer wall as shown in FIG. 13.

The construction and utilization of ammunition rounds in accordance with the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. The described ammunition round may be dimensioned for utilization in all types of gun barrels of the cartridge type except possibly for revolvers. The rear terminal edge of the closure portion of the projectile may have sealing cement applied thereto in order to adequately seal the propellant charge, the cement being ruptured when the closure portion is deformed radially outwardly. Further, the outside diameter of the outer wall associated with the tubular member will be such as to form a press fit relative to the internal bore of the adapter casing into which the projectile is inserted when loading the gun barrel. The projectile may of course be designed for cooperation with gun barrels with or without rifling while the forward housing portion may be provided with any type of desired head whether it be an explosive warhead or non-explosive impact or piercing head.

FIG. 3 also shows an annular ring of solid rocket fuel 96 located at the forward end of tubular member 46 encircling the primer 74. The body of solid fuel 96 will not be ignited at the temperatures produced by detonation of the propellant 66. However, at the extremely high temperatures generated by air friction during high speed travel of the projectile, the solid fuel will be ignited so that the combustion products thereof discharging rearwardly will prevent tumbling and enhance the guidance of the projectile along the desired trajectory. The provision of the solid fuel 96 for this purpose, is of course, optional.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use with a firearm barrel having a breech end from which a cartridge is adapted to be ejected after discharge of a projectile forwardly therefrom, the combination of a casing adapted to occupy the space normally occupied by the cartridge and a projectile assembly separable from the casing comprising a forward housing portion abutting the casing, a double walled tubular member secured to the forward housing portion and projecting rearwardly therefrom through the casing, said tubular member having a deformable outer wall, an inner wall and a nose portion interconnecting the inner and outer walls within the forward housing portion, a primer enclosed between the nose portion and the forward housing portion axially spaced from the casing, a firing pin enclosed by the inner wall and extending through the tubular member into engagement with the primer, and a propellant charge enclosed between the inner and outer walls, said outer wall having a rear end closure portion sealing the propellant charge within the tubular member.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the nose por-' tion is recessed and formed with at least one ignition aperture establishing communication between the primer and the propellant charge.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the tubular member is an integral configuration of sheet material having rearward terminal edges adapted to be positioned adjacent the breech end of the barrel, said closure portion of the outer wall converging rearwardly toward the inner wall so that the terminal edges engage each otherto seal the propellant charge.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the casing is internally provided with fin-forming die recesses into which the outer wall of the tubular member is deformed in response to detonation of the propellant charge and forward discharge of the projectile assembly.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the casing includes a rear flange having a tool receiving notch and an ejector disabling notch angularly spaced from the tool receiving notch.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein the tubular member is an integral configuration of sheet material having rearward terminal edges adapted to be positioned adjacent the breech end of the barrel, said closure portion of the outer wall converging rearwardly toward the inner wall so that the terminal edges engage each other to seal the propellant charge.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the closure the terminal edge thereof.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said slits are helical shaped.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein the adapter casing is internally provided with fin-forming die recesses into which the outer wall of the tubular member is deformed in response to detonation of the propellant charge and forward discharge of the projectile assembly.

10. The combination of claim 1 wherein the adapter casing is internally provided with fin-forming die recesses into which the outer wall of the tubular member is deformed in response to detonation of the propellant charge and forward discharge of the projectile assembly.

11. In combination with a casing, a projectile assembly separable from the casing comprising a forward housing portion, an integral double walled tubular member secured to the forward housing portion and projecting rearwardly therefrom, said tubular member having a deformable outer wall, an inner wall and a nose portion interconnecting the inner and outer walls within the forward housing portion, a primer enclosed between the nose portion and the forward housing portion, and a propellant charge enclosed between the inner and outer walls, said outer wall having a rear end closure portion sealing the propellant charge within the tubular member.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the tubular member is an integral configuration of sheet material having rearward terminal edges, said closure portion of the outer wall converging rearwardly toward the inner. wall so that the terminal edges engage each other to seal the propellant charge.

13. The combination of claim 11 wherein the casing is internally provided with fin-forming die recesses into which the outer wall of the tubular member is deformed in response to detonation of the propellant charge and forward discharge of the projectile assembly.

14. The combination of claim 11 wherein the closure portion is formed with axially extending slits opening at the terminal edge thereof.

15. The combination of claim 1 1 wherein the forward housing portion includes an internal partition against which the nose portion of the tubular member abuts to form an ignition chamber for the primer.

16. The combination of claim 11 including a body of solid rocket fuel mounted within the nose portion of the tubular member.

17. In combination with a casing adapted to be positioned within a launching device, a projectile adapted to be separated from the casing when launched, comprising a nose section and a propelling section extending rearwardly from the nose section into the casing, said propelling section including an outer deformable wall enclosing a cavity, a body of propellant in said cavity, means for igniting said propellant to displace the projectile from the casing and means formed internally of the casing for deforming the outer wall into a stabilizer formation in response to displacement of the projectile from the casing.

18. The combination of claim 17 wherein the outer wall includes outwardly deformed closure means for sealing the propellant within the propelling section. 

1. For use with a firearm barrel having a breech end from which a cartridge is adapted to be ejected after discharge of a projectile forwardly therefrom, the combination of a casing adapted to occupy the space normally occupied by the cartridge and a projectile assembly separable from the casing comprising a forward housing portion abutting the casing, a double walled tubular member secured to the forward housing portion and projecting rearwardly therefrom through the casing, said tubular member having a deformable outer wall, an inner wall and a nose portion interconnecting the inner and outer walls witHin the forward housing portion, a primer enclosed between the nose portion and the forward housing portion axially spaced from the casing, a firing pin enclosed by the inner wall and extending through the tubular member into engagement with the primer, and a propellant charge enclosed between the inner and outer walls, said outer wall having a rear end closure portion sealing the propellant charge within the tubular member.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the nose portion is recessed and formed with at least one ignition aperture establishing communication between the primer and the propellant charge.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the tubular member is an integral configuration of sheet material having rearward terminal edges adapted to be positioned adjacent the breech end of the barrel, said closure portion of the outer wall converging rearwardly toward the inner wall so that the terminal edges engage each other to seal the propellant charge.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the casing is internally provided with fin-forming die recesses into which the outer wall of the tubular member is deformed in response to detonation of the propellant charge and forward discharge of the projectile assembly.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the casing includes a rear flange having a tool receiving notch and an ejector disabling notch angularly spaced from the tool receiving notch.
 6. The combination of claim 1 wherein the tubular member is an integral configuration of sheet material having rearward terminal edges adapted to be positioned adjacent the breech end of the barrel, said closure portion of the outer wall converging rearwardly toward the inner wall so that the terminal edges engage each other to seal the propellant charge.
 7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the closure portion is formed with axially extending slits opening at the terminal edge thereof.
 8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said slits are helical shaped.
 9. The combination of claim 8 wherein the adapter casing is internally provided with fin-forming die recesses into which the outer wall of the tubular member is deformed in response to detonation of the propellant charge and forward discharge of the projectile assembly.
 10. The combination of claim 1 wherein the adapter casing is internally provided with fin-forming die recesses into which the outer wall of the tubular member is deformed in response to detonation of the propellant charge and forward discharge of the projectile assembly.
 11. In combination with a casing, a projectile assembly separable from the casing comprising a forward housing portion, an integral double walled tubular member secured to the forward housing portion and projecting rearwardly therefrom, said tubular member having a deformable outer wall, an inner wall and a nose portion interconnecting the inner and outer walls within the forward housing portion, a primer enclosed between the nose portion and the forward housing portion, and a propellant charge enclosed between the inner and outer walls, said outer wall having a rear end closure portion sealing the propellant charge within the tubular member.
 12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the tubular member is an integral configuration of sheet material having rearward terminal edges, said closure portion of the outer wall converging rearwardly toward the inner wall so that the terminal edges engage each other to seal the propellant charge.
 13. The combination of claim 11 wherein the casing is internally provided with fin-forming die recesses into which the outer wall of the tubular member is deformed in response to detonation of the propellant charge and forward discharge of the projectile assembly.
 14. The combination of claim 11 wherein the closure portion is formed with axially extending slits opening at the terminal edge thereof.
 15. The combination of claim 11 wherein the forward housing portion includes an internal partition against which the nose portion of tHe tubular member abuts to form an ignition chamber for the primer.
 16. The combination of claim 11 including a body of solid rocket fuel mounted within the nose portion of the tubular member.
 17. In combination with a casing adapted to be positioned within a launching device, a projectile adapted to be separated from the casing when launched, comprising a nose section and a propelling section extending rearwardly from the nose section into the casing, said propelling section including an outer deformable wall enclosing a cavity, a body of propellant in said cavity, means for igniting said propellant to displace the projectile from the casing and means formed internally of the casing for deforming the outer wall into a stabilizer formation in response to displacement of the projectile from the casing.
 18. The combination of claim 17 wherein the outer wall includes outwardly deformed closure means for sealing the propellant within the propelling section. 